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Friday, February 3, 2017

Eric Clapton Doc to Be Directed by Oscar-Winner Lili Fini Zanuck

The documentary feature “Eric Clapton: A Life in 12 Bars” is going to be directed by Lili Fini Zanuck, the Oscar-winning producer most well known for “Driving Miss Daisy.” On this project Zanuck will work with producer John Battsek, who also won an Oscar, for “Searching for Sugar Man” and “One Day in September.”

U.K. rights have been taken by Altitude Film Distribution, while Altitude Film Sales will handle international sales. We can expect first footage to be unveiled at Berlin’s European Film Market.

The “emotional spine of the film” will be Clapton’s personal life, according to Zanuck. And that is quite a journey to go through, starting with Clapton’s traumatic childhood, dealing with his musical career and the burden of success, and also with the death of his son in 1991 and domestic happiness a decade later.

“It is indeed a melancholic victory lap, full of nostalgic myth, but
always musically potent, always looking to the future,” Zanuck said.
“Despite the fact that his path is strewn with tragedies, addiction and
loss, he never fails to regain his bearings and continue to serve what
he holds dearest: his music.”

Battsek said: “We have unique access to Clapton’s extensive personal
archive of classic performance clips, on- and off-stage footage, iconic
photos, concert posters, handwritten letters, drawings and personal
diary entries — elements with the power to transport audiences to each
era, from obsessive student, to peer, to transcendent figure in musical
history and one of the greatest guitarists of all time.”

Chris King will be the editor on the project, most well known for winning a BAFTA for “Senna” and working on “Exit Through the Gift Shop” and “Amy”. Both of these won American Cinema Editors’ EDDIE awards.